Thanks to VA medical centers and private horse groups across the USA, hundreds, if not thousands of veterans are benefiting from rehabilitation programs involving therapy that focuses on the close bond between horse and rider.
Helping veterans heal
Horses are proving to be effective intermediaries in helping veterans overcome their difficulties in relating with others, as well as mental and physical ailments and injuries.
Known in various forms as Equine Assisted Therapy, Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy, Therapeutic Horseback Riding and Hippotherapy these programs focus on rehabilitating veterans who suffer from both mental and/or physical injuries brought on by everything from improvised explosive devices and suicide bomber attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, to major heart attacks or strokes suffered while the veteran was on duty.
An equine facilitated psychotherapy program for veterans in nothern California is located at the Presidio Riding Club (PRC) located at Fort Barry in the beautiful and serene Marin Headlands. Camp Pendleton in southern California is home to Horses for Warriors whose therapists have worked with hundreds of returning veterans over the past few years.
“The main focus of these programs is addressing Veterans who have been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD] and Traumatic Brain Injury [TBI],” said Dr. Cynthia Dunn, a psychologist at the Lexington VA Medical Center. “The Veterans will tend to withdraw socially and lend themselves to isolating activities which will generally lead to concerns for suicidality.”
Horses are proving to be effective intermediaries in helping veterans overcome their difficulties in relating with others, feelings of agitation, hyper vigilance, depression and anxiety, as well as physical ailments and injuries.
Where social settings have the potential to be overwhelming, the Horses for Heroes program allows Veterans to work individually with a horse and therapist. Building a Veteran’s confidence and relationship with the horse translates into skills that can be used in day-to-day life.
“Once I got there, it was two hours of taking my mind off of everything and just focusing on learning new skills.”
—William, Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran
For a Veteran struggling with anxiety attacks, as many PTSD sufferers do, a quiet, laid back horse is the best match. Riding gives patients a sense of independence and well-being as muscles are strengthened and balance is improved. Many programs don't use saddles so the veteran can "feel" the horse and connect directly with it physically building a bond between rider and horse.
In fact, horses are seen as living, breathing biofeedback machines by many in the therapeutic community. Horses require attention and focus and respond to the rider's movements and moods. Riders are assisted in restoring their own natural movements as they connect with the horse's movement and the physical activity helps restore mental and emotional stability.
In addition, cognitive skills are improved and negative emotions of distrust and anxiety, along with difficulties related to sleeping and traumatic dreams are in a sense "massaged away" as the rider develops a comfort level with the horse, the surroundings, and the therapists who facilitate the therapy.